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This is a PlanetJune original tutorial. Please do not share or reproduce this tutorial; instead post a link to http://www.planetjune.com/feltpoinsettia

You will need:

Red and green felt (or colours of your choice)

Scissors

Needle and thread or glue – see Notes below

Beads or a shank-backed button for the flower centre

Notes:

I had no luck at all getting my craft glue to stick the felt together. I hear that Fabri-Tac or other fabric glues work better at sticking felt. If you can find a glue that holds the petals in shape, go for it! If not, stitch everything in the way I describe.

You can easily resize this design – just start with larger squares. Just keep the green squares slightly larger than the red ones, and you can make these poinsettias as large as you’d like.

Method:

1. Cut the following from felt:

4cm x 4cm (1.5″ x 1.5″) red squares – cut three

5cm x 5cm (2″ x 2″) green squares – cut three

2cm (1″) diameter green circle – cut one

As you can see from my photo, you don’t need to be too exact – I just eyeballed everything.

2. Cut each square in half along the diagonal. You’ll end up with 6 triangles of each colour.

Green Layer

3. Prepare a sewing needle with a length of thread. Tie a large knot near one end of the thread, leaving a couple of inches of thread beyond the knot. Put the needle and thread to one side for now.

4. Hold one green felt triangle with the long edge facing down. Fold the triangle in half from side to side.

5. Imagine a straight line from the bottom of the folded edge to about 1cm (3/8″ up from the 2 original bottom corners. This just removes some of the bulk from the petals and you can eyeball it so it looks like my diagrams below; if the leaves don’t end up exactly the same size it’ll just look more realistic! Cut along this line to give you the shape A-B-C (where A-B is the folded edge).

6. Fold the front corner C forward to meet A (below, left). Fold the back corner C back to meet A (below, right) – this view shows the back of the leaf.

7. Keeping all the folds together with your fingers, flip the leaf over so you can see the front (below, left). Stitch through all the layers of the felt, slightly in from the very tips of the corners so the stitch will be secure (below, right). Pull the thread right through until the knot catches on the right (left if you’re left-handed) side of the leaf.

8. Make a second stitch back through all the layers, a couple of mm below the first, and then make a third stitch in the same position as the first. This will keep all the layers together so the leaf won’t reopen. Lay down the leaf and needle, but don’t fasten off.

9. Fold a second leaf. Using the same needle and thread, make the first and second stitches through the leaf as in steps 7 and 8 above, but snug the 2nd leaf up to the 1st (see picture, below) before making the third stitch that locks everything into place.

10. Repeat for the other 4 green leaves. When all 6 are attached together, pull them around to complete the circle, and stitch through the first leaf and back again to lock everything together.

11. First layer finished (below, left)! Flip the layer over, pull both thread ends to the back, tie them together (below, right) and trim the excess thread (don’t worry about hiding the ends though).

Red Layer

Assembly

13. Centre the red layer on top of the green, with the leaves offset (below, left). Use the remaining thread, or cut a new length, to stitch the two layers together, making stitches in a small circle around the central holes (below, right). Make sure your stitches can’t be seen from the top of the poinsettia! (Again, you may glue the layers together instead, if you’d prefer.)

Centre

You can use whatever you want for the centre of the poinsettia; here are a couple of ideas.

Simple centre
Use a button with a shank (i.e. no visible buttonholes on the surface of the button). Just stitch it on – easy!

1. Thread 6 beads onto the thread (below, left), leaving a long tail so they don’t fall off. Pass the needle through the first 2 beads again (below, right).

2. Draw tight to pull the 6 beads into a ring (below, left). Thread the 7th bead onto the needle and pass the thread through the bead on the opposite side of the circle to keep the 7th bead in the middle of the ring (below, right).

Pass the needle through all the beads around the circle until it meets the starting end. Tie the two ends together to secure the bead flower. Use the ends to stitch the flower into the centre of the poinsettia.

Finishing

Cover all the thread ends and the hole in the bottom of the green layer with the circle of green felt you cut earlier. Glue in place, or, for a more decorative finish, whipstitch or blanket stitch around the edge of the circle, catching the bottom of the green leaves with each stitch.

For display, you can add a pin back, glue on a magnet, or add a loop of ribbon so you can hang your poinsettia.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! Please leave me a comment if you did, and consider leaving me a donation. Thanks!

Handesaid

Shari Kingsaid

Thank you for the great idea! I made mine from some fleece I had left over from a previous project–waste not, want not. It wasn’t quite as stiff, but worked well. I did the top layer in white and the bottom layer in red and added a green leaf to the back so it pokes out around the edges. I had leftover black beads and added some glitter paint as an accent around the beads.

MarKay Appelsaid

I don’t have a glue that works to adhere the pieces of felt together, but I do use glue for another felt sewing shortcut: I use Stiffy or watered down school glue to make slight creases. I use a toothpick or tiny brush to apply a thin line of glue where the leaf or petal would naturally bend, then I pinch them closed (right over the fold for a crisp look) with tiny plastic clothespins until dry. It will feel stiff and is difficult to sew through after that, but it is invisible. I love this poinsettia tutorial and can’t wait to get started!

Chreisaid

I am looking for an easy felt hat pattern. As I would like to make a hat for each month. I feel the flower would add so much to the simple hat.
Do you have any more ideas? Can you help me?
The felt hat size would be for an adult. Something from the 40’s or 50’s.

judy carlsonsaid

Henrietta M. Ricesaid

This pattern is wonderfully simple. I belong to a Craft Club. I plan on making 60 of them for the members for this Christmas (2011) I have started with leftover felt I had here that had sparkles on the red. They will be adorable. I am going to put a loop, and magnet and pin backing on each so the women can use them as they wish. Thanks I am always looking for simple, elegant, free patterns to do for the club. Thank you for sharing your God given talent with the rest of us.

Kimberelysaid

Thank you for sharing the pretty poinsettia made from felt. It is so easily made that a lot of people would not think of it. It can be used as a pin or for other decoration. It is also easy enough to be made & sold at a church fund raiser without a lot of cost & time.

Kelleysaid

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Please note that I can only answer questions related to PlanetJune patterns and tutorials (see details), and I can only respond to questions or comments written in English. Thank you :) - June